Friendly Interference
by blankdreamer-13
Summary: It's Aang's birthday. Surprisingly, he doesn't care much for it. But Toph has something different in mind.


A/N: Wow, another Aang/Toph oneshot. I've made three this month not including this. Maybe I should have just bundled 'em up in one fic. Guess I must be really bored to be writing this much XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the characters

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**Friendly Interference**

It was a quiet morning, much too quiet for Toph's liking. Said earthbender was idly walking along one of the many corridors of the Fire Palace. Aang had needed to visit the Fire Nation for his usual 'Avatar mumbo-jumbo' as she called it, and he was lucky enough to have brought Katara, Sokka, and Toph with him during the trip. They were currently visiting Zuko, seeing it as a chance for their little family to have a reunion.

Toph had gotten up before the sun was up and decided to go on a tour of the palace, thinking that going back to sleep would be a waste of time when she could be doing something worthwhile. Like setting up a prank for someone. Holding in an evil laugh, she began to plan her scheme.

She had just finished setting things up and was looking for a good spot to watch it all unfold when she passed by Aang's room. Through her special 'sight', she was surprised to find that Aang wasn't in bed. Sure, Aang didn't sleep in late but he sure wasn't an early riser.

"Hm, I guess I'll go bug him before everything happens."

--

Aang was at that moment on top of the palace roof. He had lain on his back, his hands laced behind his head, gazing at the sky. It was such a peaceful morning. Well, apart from what he guessed to be Toph's preparations for one of her pranks. He wondered what he could to for the day, but his thoughts were interrupted. Being launched a few feet in the air by rising roof tiles does that.

"Good morning, Toph," he smiled at his companion, after landing safely back on the roof. "Done getting ready?"

She smirked in response, taking a seat beside him. "Yep, it's gonna be a great show. Just have to wait for everything to fall into place."

A few moments of peaceful silence passed between them before Toph asked, "What's up, Twinkle toes? You got up before sunrise and now you're actually quiet. Something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he reassured her. "Just thinking about what to do today. Maybe I'll head into town. Zuko prepared a disguise for me when I came."

"But you hate crowds. If even one person catches a whiff that the Avatar is there, you'll be chased by a mob in no time."

"Yeah, but still, I guess I'll go..." he said fleetingly. His head clearly wasn't that focused on the conversation.

"Did something happen?"

"Not really. I just want to go out today."

It doesn't seem like he's lying, she mused. But something was different at the very least.

An ear-shattering scream pierced the air. "ZUKO!" Katara shrieked. "What are you doing in my room?!"

"It's starting," Toph laughed, giving complete attention to the events in the palace.

"I didn't do anything! Honest! There was this hole beside my bed and I fell down here to-"

"What hole?! I don't see any hole! If you're gonna lie, make it believable!"

Aang whistled, impressed. "Wow, you can earthbend the floor back from this far away?"

"Katara, I swear! What the-" A loud crack resonated in the air. "OW! Put that away! You're gonna hurt someone!"

"Exactly!"

Aang and Toph laughed at the success of Toph's prank. After a few more shouts and yelps of pain, Aang got up and made a motion to go.

"Aww, you're going already?" she asked. "Snoozles just woke up, things are about to get interesting."

"I like the idea," Aang laughed. "But I wanna go for a walk."

"Okay, really, Twinkle toes," she said with a definite tone. "You're starting to get on my nerves. I'll believe that there's nothing bothering you, but seriously, what's going on?"

Aang smiled at the concern Toph was showing. "Nothing," he answered smugly.

"Would you stop it with the half-truths already?" she snapped. "Sure, I can't _feel_ you lying but I can still tell."

"You're going to have to ask the right question then," he taunted.

"Fine, what is there today that's making you act differently from other days?"

"It's my birthday."

At first, Toph didn't know how to react. He had said it so simply, like it wasn't a big deal, and to Aang practically everything was a big deal. Heck, she'd known him to prance around gleefully celebrating the fact he could stuff more berries into his mouth than Momo.

"How can you say it like it's nothing?" she asked, truly bewildered. "Shouldn't you be prancing around like you usually do?"

"I dunno, I've never really _felt_ anything special during my birthday. I don't feel older, bigger, wiser, stronger, or anything. But I do take the day to see how far I've come, remember important experiences, and think of what's in store ahead."

Toph couldn't say anything. She was still finding hard to believe how lightly Aang took his birthday. She would have thought that just thinking about it would have set off something.

"Come on, Toph," he said. "If I'm not bothered by it, why should you? Thanks for worrying though." He smiled at her reassuringly. "Anyway, I'm gonna go take that walk now. I'll be back for dinner."

He jumped off the roof, leaving Toph, alone in her thoughts. She was momentarily distracted by Sokka threatening to kill Zuko, but just for a moment.

--

Aang got back a couple of hours after sundown. He had spent the whole day wandering who knows where, just drifting in his thoughts. As he stepped into the main hall of the Fire Palace, an eerie silence greeted him.

"Hello?" he called out.

Where was everybody? As he scanned the dark halls, he could feel the few hairs he had prickle. Someone was watching him. But who?

Feeling movement behind him, he whirled around prepared to hurl whoever had dared to sneak up on him into oblivion.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Instead, Aang was the one knocked back by the volume of the greeting. He looked up to see Toph, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and a whole lot of other people, both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Huh? What's going on?" he blurted out stupidly.

"We're throwing you a party, silly," Katara said. "Toph told us it was you birthday today and we started preparing as soon as we could."

"Could've started sooner if _someone_ got rid of their non-existent issues," Zuko muttered. Katara spared him a glare before turning her attention back to Aang.

"Anyway, now that the guest of honor is here, let's get this party started!"

--

The party had ended well after midnight and had left Aang completely drained. But he didn't go to bed yet. He still had someone he wanted to talk to.

He pushed the door of Toph's room open without knocking. He was quite sure she knew he wanted to talk to her, and sure enough, she was sitting on her bed just waiting for him.

"What's up, Twinkle toes?"

He took a seat beside her. "You know why I'm here. Why'd you tell the others it was my birthday?"

"Didn't enjoy the party?" she teased.

"No, I enjoyed it a lot," he smiled. "But it's just that I thought you would have simply left it alone."

"You didn't say not to do anything," she smirked.

"I know, but still. Why?"

"Look Twinkle toes, just because you don't think much of your own birthday doesn't mean-" she faltered, eyes widening, as if she just realized what she was about to say.

"What? Doesn't mean what?" Aang prompted.

"Nothing," she said stiffly. "Forget I said anything."

"Toooph," he whined. "Come on. I won't stop bugging you until you give in, and you of all people should know how annoying I can be."

"Do your worst. I'm going to bed." She laid on her bed and pulled the covers over her.

Aang just smirked and started singing. "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all, it's a sma-"

"Okay!" she shouted, coming out from under the bed covers. "Jeez, you're so off key."

"Well?" She gave a deep sigh before consenting.

"Just because you don't think much of your own birthday doesn't mean that we don't think anything of it. It's a day we can celebrate that you were born, Twinkle toes. Something we're really grateful for because it gave us the chance to meet you. Heck, I'd still be stuck in Gaoling if you hadn't come along. That's why I- _we_ wanted to do something special for your birthday. There, are you happy now?"

Her cheeks were a bit pink, having said what she thought to be highly embarrasing things. Aang smiled at her. "Yeah, really happy," he answered. "Thanks, Toph." He gave her a light hug, which she actually returned.

"I'm beat," she said yawning loudly. "I'm gonna hit the sack. Night Twinkle toes." She once again pulled the covers over her and let sleep take her.

"Good night, Toph," Aang whispered. He tiptoed out the room, silently closing the door behind him.

Aang smiled, gazing at the stars from his bedroom window. This was easily his best birthday ever, and he knew who to thank for it. He would make sure to pay her back. After all, he only had that attitude regarding his own birthday. When it comes to his friends, well, better hope they're prepared for a long day.

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A/N: Just turned 18 yesterday, I'm getting old. I guess the attitude is kinda OOC for Aang, but I wanted to try putting him in a different perspective. Yay for Aang/Toph! Whether friendship, romance, or whatever, these two always entertain me. Review please!


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